Dominique Thread!

[lazy gardener]

tgooberbutt. Thanks for the pic. Your Meyer's chicks have much darker legs than me MMc chicks. IMO that's a desirable Dom trait, and makes the chicks easier to sex. Nice looking EE

 

[Sylvester017]

Chicks die of all kinds of things, but from your description, my guess would be that it had mites. Even baby chicks can carry mites, which are notoriously hard to see, and a severe infestation will not only cause the restlessness and lack of sleep, but can make a chick unthrifty so it doesn't grow and feather out like it should. If there are too many, it can kill them.

We have had backyard chickens for 3 years and the only problem we had was when a breeder shipped 2 rare chicken juveniles to us with not only lice, but worms!!!! Buyer beware. So we have always been cautious about lice/mites/worms and have had our girls and coop on monthly health maintenance schedules for these issues since day one of having them. Yes, chicks are lost for any number of reasons but I assure you it was NOT from lice/mites - she was treated with organic Poultry Protector because this is what we do with any quarantined new poultry as a precaution. But thank you for the input as I'm sure other readers need this info. Also lice/mites/worms can cut into a flock's egg productivity so this is something we have always kept on top of to keep healthy layers. Our Dom was lice/mite free and was the only chick in her cage and the sudden seizure was out of the blue. Before she got tucked in for the evening I noticed her pecking a bit at her right foot (probably the tingling sensation right before a stroke/seizure) but didn't think anything since I saw no bumps, bruises, abrasians, etc. and she went to bed in her usually peeping talkative chirps. Then suddenly she screamed from her cage, we saw her convulsing on the cage bottom, and by the time we picked her up she was gone. My farm folks raised Babcock Leghorns, BRs, RIRs, etc for 15 years and chicks were common casualties from hatching defects to seemingly normal juveniles dropping over dead. The ones that made it to adulthood were the hardier gene survivors. My Mom did health inspections but the weaker or disabled ones were never coddled as that was time and money wasted on poor stock. Sounds harsh but that was what farmlife was like 60+ years ago.

Losing our Dom chick at not even 3 weeks was just too sad. She was getting the soft barring on her wing feathers and tail even though the feed store blue mark underbelly white down was still on her and the little blue dot on her head spot - to ID her from the BRs in the feed store shipment. She was the last Dom chick of fall and there were no others available so she was our lone chick and we bonded on the ride home. I just can't handle losing chicks so we only order older juveniles now.

 

[Sylvester017]

There is a Dominique club website. You have to pay the membership fee (only ten bucks) and then you can see the breeder list. There is also a Dominique Facebook group.

I would try one or both or those.
I have Dominiques for the first time this year. I got one bunch from Cackle (all the dom breeders said that Cackle had the best stock available, for a hatchery) and I got a few from a breeder, "windy ridge".

I have found that the doms are growing MUCH faster, and are MUCH bigger than the other breeds.. The similar age EE is maybe growing at the same speed, but the rose comb dark brown leghorn, rose comb white leghorn, hamburgs, are all smaller. Of course, all of those breeds end up smaller than a Dom.

Some of my male doms did color up pretty early, but with very close to no wattle growth. My girls have no color and have no wattle growth at all.

My leghorns, even though they are rose comb, have more wattle and comb growth than the Dominiques.

My chicks were all hatched about May 2nd.... So no laying yet.

I believe Cackle Hatchery bantam Doms are the excellent stock the Dominique clubs report. I'm not sure they are referring to the LF Doms but in any event Doms are great birds and Cackle raises their own birds unlike a broker like MyPetChicken, McMurray, etc.

Doms similar to BRs seem to be fast growers. EEs/APA Ameraucanas are slower to mature. White and Brown Leghorn pullets get huge floppy straight combs. However we had a rare Buff Leghorn whose comb was not so enormous because of the breed history used to create her variety. And Leghorns are only about a half pound lighter-weight than Doms but both are economical foragers and easy on the feed bill.

Except for Hamburgs which I'm not familiar with, your breed choices are all excellent as layers. We have found that our APA Blue Wheaten Ameraucana is non-combative and the Buff Leg pulled out her beard and started chasing the Silkies to pull out their crests too so we re-homed the Leg. You may find your EEs non-combative, social, jittery types, but sweet as rain and bully breeds find them excellent bully targets - one reason we no longer keep assertive Mediterranean class fowl or heavy dual-purpose LF around our gentler Ameraucana and Silkies.

 

[tgooberbutt]

Why Thank you @lazy gardener ! The doms are my favorite of the bunch - and my one dom from my previous flock (RIP) was my absolute favorite as well. This year's do have much darker legs, and my previous dom (also from Meyer) had almost white legs. They've all had the best personalities though

 

[lazy gardener]

Sylvester, good info re: Doms, Leghorns, and EE behavior. I was aware that Leghorns can be more aggressive, and will be keeping that in mind. At 13 weeks old, they pretty much keep to themselves. I do hope they are not too aggressive for the Doms. My plan is to breed a small combed mutt bird that will do well in our cold climate. Just starting out with a core group of birds now, and will be playing with the genetics, after i have a while to observe how these birds do and interact. My first generation of EE x various straight combed birds is producing a comb that is a bit too big for my liking. I may have to dump out the EE and stick with just rose combed birds. Was hoping to keep the EE for the egg color diversity. Plenty of time to play around with it, and never a dull moment.

 

[Sylvester017]

Sylvester, good info re: Doms, Leghorns, and EE behavior. I was aware that Leghorns can be more aggressive, and will be keeping that in mind. At 13 weeks old, they pretty much keep to themselves. I do hope they are not too aggressive for the Doms. My plan is to breed a small combed mutt bird that will do well in our cold climate. Just starting out with a core group of birds now, and will be playing with the genetics, after i have a while to observe how these birds do and interact. My first generation of EE x various straight combed birds is producing a comb that is a bit too big for my liking. I may have to dump out the EE and stick with just rose combed birds. Was hoping to keep the EE for the egg color diversity. Plenty of time to play around with it, and never a dull moment.

Rather than starting out with aggressive White/Brown Leghorns use California Whites (a Leghorn utility hybrid) that already has a calmer temperament and breed from them for your project birds. The Mediterraneans are excellent layers and I LOVE Leghorns for so many reasons but do not like dealing with their big floppy combs in cold weather. We had one White Leghorn with such a huge floppy comb we should've named her Veronica Lake (1940's actress).

You may still get blue or green egg layers using the EE x's since the blue egg is a dominant gene from what I've read about it. Someone in England is trying to get blue egg-laying Silkies to match their blue earlobes but not having any success except to get EEs with 5 toes, blue ears, different colors of eggs, and no silky feathering after several heartbreaking generations. It can take 7 up to 10 generations to breed out unwanted features in project birds and that's a LOT of wasted time, heartache, and culling. The culling would be hardest for me as my DH won't eat any of our birds and it's hard to find homes for "mutt" breeds.

 

[Alaskan]

I have liked my leghorns a great deal, they are not at all cuddly, but they are very inquisitive, and the best layers by FAR! This year I am trying rose comb leghorns, since I am not fond of the big comb in cold weather.

Actually, I decided to focus on mostly egg producing breeds, and tiny combs.

My Dominiques are looking wonderful, very bold, inquisitive, and great at bug catching.

 

[Sylvester017]

I have liked my leghorns a great deal, they are not at all cuddly, but they are very inquisitive, and the best layers by FAR! This year I am trying rose comb leghorns, since I am not fond of the big comb in cold weather.

Actually, I decided to focus on mostly egg producing breeds, and tiny combs.

My Dominiques are looking wonderful, very bold, inquisitive, and great at bug catching.

We had the pleasure of making online acquaintances who lived in snowy Colorado and asked our advice for winter hardy breeds. We suggested the rose-combed/small combed Dominiques and Buckeyes and they got a quad of Doms with a couple Buckeye pullets. They were absolutely pleased with them. The Dom roo is protective of the group, curious outgoing people friendly, both breeds are excellent foragers, the Doms are easier on the feed than the Buckeyes but the family loves both breeds - very predator savvy and always foraging. IMO the Doms make other breeds look lazy when it comes to foraging LOL. The Dom's checkered gray/silver feather pattern seems to disappear/meld in a field of grass and weeds.

I do LOVE Leghorns but it has been a joy dealing instead with small-combed breeds this past winter. Next Spring we hope to find a Breda breeder who ships juveniles - it will be interesting to have a good egg-laying breed with NO comb whatsoever. In your Alaskan weather the breed may not like having their feathered feet and vulture hocks dipped in snow although they were created in the Netherlands. I know muffed/bearded breeds stay warmer on their face but don't know if the feathered feet keep the Breda's feet warmer from walking on snow?

 

[Alaskan]

Yep, up here feathered feet are not a good idea.

It is too easy for them to get wet and then freeze off.

Another reason I like the doms.

 

[lazy gardener]

The Mediterraneans are excellent layers and I LOVE Leghorns for so many reasons but do not like dealing with their big floppy combs in cold weather.

. We suggested the rose-combed/small combed Dominiques and Buckeyes and they got a quad of Doms with a couple Buckeye pullets. They were absolutely pleased with them. The Dom roo is protective of the group, curious outgoing people friendly, both breeds are excellent foragers, the Doms are easier on the feed than the Buckeyes but the family loves both breeds - very predator savvy and always foraging. IMO the Doms make other breeds look lazy when it comes to foraging LOL. The Dom's checkered gray/silver feather pattern seems to disappear/meld in a field of grass and weeds.

I do LOVE Leghorns but it has been a joy dealing instead with small-combed breeds this past winter. I know muffed/bearded breeds stay warmer on their face but don't know if the feathered feet keep the Breda's feet warmer from walking on snow?

I couldn't agree with you more re: several of your points: I love the productivity record of the Leghorn, and don't even object to their white eggs. You get a large egg from a smaller, feed efficient bird. That's why I've chosen the Rose combed brown Leghorn: Small comb, fuel efficient, smaller frame, well camoflaged. And, these girls can run! I expect them to be about as good as they come at predator evasion. After a season or 2 with these girls, and the Doms, I'll be well positioned to make some decisions about what works best in my flock. I expect that the Doms are here for the long haul. The RCBL may, or may not make the cut. I will bypass any feather footed birds, b/c IMO, they don't do well in snowy frozen conditions, even though common sense might lead you to think otherwise. Buckeyes are on my watch list. I'm thinking that i'll need to choose and stick with either rose or pea combs, and it'd be counter productive to mix the 2. Buckeye x EE might make a fun bird. (Buckeyes are pea combed, aren't they???)

Alaskan, you and I, an I'm sure a lot of other people seem to be heading in a similar direction and choosing the same breeds for the same reasons! Are you putting any broodies into your flock? Or do you have an incubator?